Just In Time
by HaPpY SnApPeR
Summary: Jimmy didn't realize how much Kim was hurting after Bobby's death. Alex notices something and gets there just in time. Now that Kim has been saved from harm, can Jimmy and Alex help her before it happens again?
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Third Watch or any of the characters used in this chapter.**_

"Kim?" Alex pounded on the door of her friend's apartment. "Kim, open up! Please!" She tried not to let the panic she was feeling show in her voice as thousands of thoughts flew through her head, none of them reassuring. She'd seen Kim leave the station after forgetting to pick up her son; she'd seen the dead, desperate look in those normally bright green eyes. She'd tried calling multiple times and she knew Kim would have been home for a while now. 'Maybe she's gone out,' Alex told herself but as soon as she said it she knew it couldn't be right; Kim hadn't gone out since Bobby died.

"Kim!" She grabbed the handle and was surprised when she felt it give and turn. The door opened and Alex stood there a moment before coming back to life. "Kim? Kim where are you?" She stepped inside, closing the door behind her. The click of the door closing seemed so loud in the stillness of the apartment. "Kim?" She tried again, her voice soft. When there was no answer she moved forwards into the living room. She didn't hear it at first; in fact she almost didn't hear the soft clink of a glass and the small sob that followed it.

Kim Zambrano sat fully clothed in the tub her knees curled up to her chest. Her mind raced around endlessly in circles that never seemed to stop. She couldn't make them stop; all she had wanted to do was sleep but it wouldn't happen. Jimmy didn't understand; the one man she had left in her life didn't understand. But then again, she reasoned, how could he? I forgot about my own son.

She was so lost in these thought that she didn't hear the pounding on her door or Alex's frantic voice. She sighed, the ache in her chest growing. The pain wouldn't go away, it had been there since Bobby died, a constant dull pain gnawing at her stomach, squeezing at her heart. How could she have let it happen? She shook her head and studied the bottle she held in her hands; reading the prescription carefully, though she already knew what it said. With trembling hands she put it on the edge of the tub and reached for the crystal wine glass, remembering when she'd gotten it at her wedding as she stared at the dark red wine in it. She took a small sip as if testing it and set it on the edge of the tub. For a moment she stared at her trembling hands, fascinated by their relentless trembling that she could do nothing to stop. Her chest tightened and suddenly she was dizzy. A soft sob escaped her throat as she read that bottle one more time, shaking its entire contents out into her hand, counting every single capsule, already knowing that there were exactly 20. It was more than enough, she knew, she'd seen the results man times, had been the one frantically trying to revive those who hadn't wanted to live. She picked up the wine in her other hand; it was time.

"Kim!" Alex's voice rose to an unnaturally high pitch as she stared at the scene in front of her. Kim froze, her hands beginning to shake so badly that some of the wine splashed from the glass, leaving a deep red stain on her shirt. She couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't breathe. She thought she must have been imagining Alex for a moment until she felt the glass being taken from her hands and then the pills. Still she didn't move, a roaring sound filling her head as her body screamed for air.

"Kim?" Alex's voice was soft now, gentle. For the first time, Kim moved, her eyes meeting Alex's gaze for a moment. A raw sob escaped from her throat and Kim bent over at the waist as she began to cry in earnest, every sob robbing her lungs of air.

Alex stood motionless for a moment watching as Kim began to shake. Then the moment was over and she knelt next to the tub and whispered softly, "Oh Kim…I didn't realize…" She closed her mouth unsure of how to say what she was thinking and instead put a hand on Kim's back. Instinctively she reached her other hand into her pocked for her cell phone.


	2. Chapter 2

Jimmy Doherty could hardly breathe as he stared at his ex-wife. In all their short marriage or even in the time afterwards, he had never seen Kim so quiet. She looked liked she'd given up, sitting there on the sofa, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders and her long hair falling across her tearstained face, void of all color. "Oh God." He clamped his hand over his mouth. "Oh Kimmy…" Time seemed to slow as he stood there frozen.

Alex looked up at him from where she sat next to Kim, one hand firmly rubbing her friend's back. "Jimmy," she hissed. "Jimmy please come over here." He shook himself back into reality and crossed the room to where Kim sat.

"Hi Kim." His voice was soft and he sat down next to her. She didn't respond at first, just sat there staring at a spot on the wall. He closed his eyes tightly for a moment and took a deep breath. He could hardly stand to look at her; she looked so far gone, so helpless. Please, Kim, let me in. "Kim, please look at me." He reached out touching her shoulder, and moved his hand up to brush against her cheek. She blinked slowly and tilted her cheek ever so slightly against his hand. "Kim, what's going on?" Kim turned now, facing him fully, her face pained.

"Jim..my…" Her breath caught as a sob rose in her throat. "Jim..my….Jimmy…." She stared down at her shaking hands. Why wouldn't they stop shaking? "I'm so sorry. I…" She couldn't find the words, couldn't speak.

Jimmy wordlessly covered her hands with his own. Relief spread over him at the sound of her voice. Thank God. "Hey none of that sorry business now," he gently chided her. He let her sit a moment before saying gently, "Kimmy, what's going on?" Please God, let her tell me. He was vaugley aware of Alex getting up and heading into the kitchen as he waited patiently.

"I just….I….miss him so much. It hurts so….bad." She felt the tears beginning to run down her face but she didn't even bother wiping them away now. "He…I should have…done something Jimmy…and now I…nobody understands and nobody….nobody….I should have saved him…I should have. I miss him….so…..much. I forgot Joey today and I…..it hurts…I close my eyes and I see….I see him when….his eyes, they…." Jimmy didn't say a word and Kim felt him tense; she closed her eyes tightly afraid that he was mad at her for forgetting Joey and for being such a problem. Her chest tightened again and she began to breath faster, her body desperate for the air it couldn't seem to find. I can't breathe, she realized.

"Kim. Kim." Jimmy's voice was suddenly loud in her ear, rising above the roaring. "Kim, breathe. You have to breathe." Why did he sound so loud?

"Kim. Breathe in and out. Slowly. You're hyperventilating. It's alright you just need to calm down." She recognized Alex's voice and turned her head. Alex smiled and nodded. "See, you're okay just breath slow."

Kim struggled for what seemed like hours but was only minutes before her breathing began to slow and the world stopped spinning. She leaned her head back exhausted and felt someone's arm go around her and pull her close. Jimmy. She let his hands pull her close and let her head fall to his chest. "I'm sorry." She whispered finally, her voice barely audible.

Jimmy looked down at her and shook his head. "Don't be Kimmy." He closed his eyes tightly and ran his hands gently over her hair as she began to drift off to sleep. He looked at Alex his fears reflected in her eyes. If she hadn't seen it, he realized with a start, he never would have been able to hold her again. He was just now finding out how much he'd missed that. As her breathing began to even out he kissed the top of her head. Finally sure that she was sleep, Jimmy sighed softly and whispered, "Where do we go from here Kimmy?"


	3. Chapter 3

Alex sat at the kitchen table, holding an empty bottle of wine. "She needs help." Alex sighed as she watched Jimmy pace back and forth across the small kitchen.

"I know that Alex." Jimmy's voice was tense and he stopped to finger the wine glass, recognizing it from their wedding. He picked it up and ran his fingers over the smooth glass absentmindedly. "I just don't know who exactly we should go to. Do we take her to the ER when she wakes up. Or do we contact her doctor and get some sort of referral. If she goes to the ER, they'll put a hold on her."

"But we can't let her stay here, what if she does it again. And even if one of us stayed with her what if we fell asleep and she tried something while we were sleeping. I just never even thought…"

Kim woke up to find herself lying on her couch and for a moment had no idea what she was doing there. Then she moved and her head pounded and she remembered drinking a lot of wine and then going into the bathroom and… "Oh God," she moaned softly. She stood up slowly swaying. She heard the voices coming from her kitchen and walked towards the kitchen and stood outside of the doorway, listening.

"I know, I didn't either Jimmy. Nobody knew. We just have to figure out how to deal with this."

"God, what about Joey?" Jimmy slammed his fist down on the counter. "What am I going to tell him?"  
From outside of the kitchen Kim let out a sob. Joey, how could she have forgotten? In the Kitchen Jimmy and Alex stopped talking and she knew they'd heard her. Sure enough in a matter of seconds Jimmy had walked out and found her.

"Kim?" He said softly. "How long have you been standing there?"

"I...I just got there," She lied, her words a little bit slurred from the wine. "Jimmy listen, I'm sorry…I didn't mean to hurt you or Joey or anyone I just…I can't…I don't…" Her voice broke and she looked down.

"Listen," Jimmy put his hands on her face and lifted her head so she was looking at him. "I know you didn't, you just need some help right now and Alex and I can't do that. I'll support you however I can, but I can't help you on my own. Alex and I are going to take you to the ER. But we're going to be there with you and-"

"-no Jimmy please, they'll take Joey away from me if I get locked up and I don't want…" She broke off as he put his finger over her lips, shushing her.

"I'm not taking Joey from you right no Kimmy, but if you don't get help I can't let him stay with you. It's not fair for him to come and find you passed out or even worse dead. You know it's not right that you'd rather be dead. Please Kim, don't make me force you." He paused, brushing the hair from her face. "Kim, please I'm scared. I don't want to get a call telling me you're dead." She paused for a moment studying his face. With a shaking hand she reached up and traced the line of his jaw with her fingertips. Then slowly, she nodded, without saying a word.

"There's my girl," he whispered as she buried her face against his chest. Then under his breath, "Thank God."


End file.
